TBILISI, MAY 31 2017 (The Bulletin)  — Tough new smoking laws will bring Georgian legislation in line with guidelines included in a trade and association agreement that Georgia signed with the EU this year, said Georgia’s public ombudsman.

The bill, approved by parliament on May 17, will impose tighter rules on cigarette packaging and advertising, as well as a blanket ban on smoking inside public buildings.

Georgia has been slower than its neighbours in following a global trend to clampdown on smoking, partially because restrictions are so unpopular among Georgia’s heavy- smoking population. The World Health Organisation said more than half of all Georgian men smoke and between 9,000 to 11,000 die from smoking-related diseases each year.

Georgia’s ombudsman praised the new regulations as a step towards improving public health and said it “ brought the applicable tobacco legislation in line with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the recommendations and the directives of the Georgia-EU Association Agreement”.

Smoking in Georgia is currently banned only in medical facilities, educational institutions and public transport. Most bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants allow smoking.

Dato Zaaliasvhili, the manager of Cafe Kala, a modern cafe, said that his business will not suffer.

“We have implemented a non-smoking policy in our cafe already and clients’ reaction have not been bad. Our businesses will not be negatively affected by the new legislation”, he said.

But Nato, the manager of the more traditional Old Keria, disagreed.

“The vast majority of our customers smoke,” she said. “This will badly affect my business.”

The new packaging regulations will be imposed from January 2018 and the ban on smoking in public buildings a few months later.

ENDS

Copyright ©Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 331, published on June 5 2017)